Monday, 26 July 2010

When it comes to putting the days of the week in order according to popularity (because we all do that, right?), Monday comes right at the bottom of the scale, somewhere between traffic wardens and Kanye West.

Sorry Monday, that's just the way it is.

I call this picture "The Happy Days?" - note how one of the days looks vaguely psychotic. That's Wednesday, obviously.

However, at the moment, Monday, no matter how dismal it may seem, is always perked up, when it suddenly dawns on me that there's a new episode of True Blood out. Joy joy joy!

The main reason why a Monday evening viewing of True Blood is just so darn marvellous?

Jason Stackhouse, aka Ryan Kwanten, aka Vinnie from Home & Away!

Forget about the cold, pale undead; for me, this show is all about Jason, his adorable accent, his tanned arms and his lovely confused face. In fact, I'm going to go and watch the newest episode right now, swoon swoony swoon...

[Image of Jason from truebloodguide.com, stick man drawing by yours truly. And believe me, it took A LOT longer than you'd think.]

Saturday, 24 July 2010

Everywhere I go, there seems to be reminders from ASOS telling me that they've got a sale on. Well... I say 'everywhere I go', I mean everywhere I go on the Internet; it's not as if there's some kind of Derren Brown-esque subliminal messaging situation going on, where I'm sitting on the bus and all the billboards I drive past are telling me in some kind of clever, subliminal way to spend all my money on celebrity-inspired fashion, oh no (just in case that's what you were thinking). In fact, it's actually my own fault, because I follow them on Facebook AND Twitter and also recieve their newsletter; so at the moment I'm being bombarded with Tweets and updates and newsletters that are basically just going BUY BUY BUY! I tried to ignore it; I was good for a week or so but then, yesterday afternoon, I thought "I'll just go and have a look". It was all perfectly innocent really, I mean, I'm not even that keen on buying clothes online, because, as I've mentioned before, my size varies from shop to shop and I hate all the hassle of sending stuff back if it doesn't fit. But ASOS doesn't just sell clothes does it? Oh no, ASOS sells EVERYTHING! And do you know what I always need? New accessories!

So I bought a few little trinkets. The good thing about the ASOS sale is that they actually do reduce the prices significantly; it's not like French Connection, where they knock about £2 off and expect you to be really grateful, oh no, at ASOS they understand that a sale is a SALE and I want to be able to buy a whole new wardrobe for less than £30 and still have change leftover for a steak dinner and a ride on the ferry (WHAT? I don't even know...)

Anyway, because my poor little camera seems to have inexplicably died a death, I figured that when my new items arrive, I'm not going to be able to photograph them to show them off, so I'll just post the images from the site. They're due to arrive the week after next because I chose the free delivery method (see? I'm very good at this thrifty thing!) so for now I shall look at the pictures and imagine all the fun that my items and I will have together.

ASOS Star Quilted Padlock Bag - I need a good black bag that can fit a lot of stuff in (no small bags for me, no thank you) and this looks like a decent size and shape to suit my needs. Plus, I'm hoping that even though it's quite cheap, it actually looks fairly expensive in person, thus making me look a lot fancier than I really am. If this isn't the case, and it actually just looks a bit tacky, I'm kind of ok with that too.

ASOS Paint by Ciate nail varnish in Chloe and Lily - you know I love nail varnish, so there's not much explanation needed for these. I just thought the colours looked pretty and I've had my eye on the Ciate varnishes for ages but not gotten around to buying them. Will probably do a review of these when they arrive.

- I know that this looks kind of tacky, but again, I'm kind of ok with that; I'm in a very tacky frame of mind at the moment (I'm sure I should be worried about this). Plus I love how pink it is, reminds me of Barbie!

See? I didn't get too carried away; just bought a few items, that I desperately need to have in my life and really didn't cost much AT ALL. Plus, ASOS are also offering an extra 10% off if you enter the code ASOSTreats at the checkout. So really, it would be a crime not to buy anything, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it?!

Can I just say OH and then add MY GOD. Of all the nail art designs that WAH Nails have posted on their blog, this could well be my absolute favourite ever ever ever. MINNIE MOUSE BOWS! As soon as my nails grow a bit, I am SO trying this out. I will probably be disappointed as there's no way I've got a steady enough hand to draw bows so perfectly, but still, I have to try because this is just too cute!

Just thought I'd share this lovely snippet of conversation from last night when myself, my parents and my sister were trying to decide what film to watch (yes, that is how exciting my life is at the moment...)

Me: Is The Dark Knight scary though?

Mum: No, it's just very... dark.

[EDIT - I just re-read this and realised it's not actually very funny, I think it's one of those things where you had to be there... take my word for it though, it WAS funny!]

I hope this partially explains why I'm the way I am. Blame the parents, always blame the parents.

Friday, 23 July 2010

I warn you in advance, this is kind of just a random post of random thoughts because I can't really be bothered using my brain properly today.

I've just finished reading The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, which I bought on a whim in HMV last week. I've not seen the film (which was directed by Sofia Coppola and stars Kirsten Dunst) but after reading the novel, I'd quite like to see it. Anyway, I thoroughly recommend the book, it's lovely and tragic.

"The Lisbon girls were thirteen (Cecilia), and fourteen (Lux), and fifteen (Bonnie), and sixteen (Mary), and seventeen (Therese). They were short, round-buttocked in denim, with rounded cheeks that recalled some dorsal softness. Whenever we got a glimpse, their faces looked indecently revealed, as though we were used to seeing women in veils."

I scanned the image from the cover of my copy (you know how I love to scan!). I really like the shoes in that photo!

I'm currently on a mission to read all the books. While I was at uni, I read a lot of books, but they were mostly books I had to read because of my course, so now I'm trying to make up for that by reading everything I can get my hands on. Got any recommendations? Please share!

I realised last week that the beautiful floral pieces from the Dior Couture show reminded me of the Flower Fairies poetry books I used to read when I was about twelve. Yes, I know, it all sounds very twee, but when I was younger I loved looking through the pages upon pages of pretty pictures and reading the silly, whimsical little poems that went along with them. You may recognise the images or at least the style of drawing, as I think a lot of them are now used on the front of greetings cards and notebooks etc. Anyway, FYI, each photo corresponds to a poem about a particular type of flower fairy and the author, Cicely Mary Barker penned and illustrated hundreds of them.

The Narcissus Fairy

The Scilla Fairy (Have you ever heard of the 'Scilla' flower? No me neither...)

Cute, aren't they? I know, they're hardly Dior Couture, but I do like that blue hood/cloak thing in the last picture. Galliano, take note!

You may have noticed that I've added a 'legal stuff' page to the blog. This is mainly due to the fact that I recently joined the IFB and have spent a lot of today and yesterday reading articles about blog copyright and other important, serious things that you might not think about as a blogger, but really should. Anyway, I doubt that I'll ever need to enforce my 'copyright regulations' because I'm such a tiny wee blog really, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Potential copycats, bugger off! How do other people feel about blog copyright etc? I'd be interested to hear other bloggers' thoughts on the matter because I think it's quite an important issue.

Saturday, 17 July 2010

I'd been so caught up in all the fabulous Resort shows that had been happening recently, that I hadn't even noticed that the Fall Couture shows had started. Silly Franki. Fortunately, my beautious friend Lauren brought this fact to my attention - thanks Lauren. (Lauren also has a blog, which can be read here, but she hasn't posted anything in a LONG time. Everyone, I think you should join me in saying "Lauren, please blog again. You are funny and the world needs funny. Do it for the good of the world!")

Of course, as soon as I heard about the Dior show, I knew I had to post about it because, as previous posts on here may suggest, I FRIKKIN LOVE DIOR!

I think part of the reason why I love Dior so much, is that the shows never fail to surprise me. When everyone else is doing dark, muted colours and subtle tailoring, John Galliano wraps the models heads up in cellophane, goes completely mental with a pair of pinking shears and then, just to make things REALLY CRAZY, comes out at the end of the show in what I can only imagine is a couture version of an Edwardian beekeeping suit. It's just so exciting!

Inspired, quite obviously, by flowers, this show was literally an explosion of colours and textures. Rather than focusing solely on floral prints, which we've been seeing everywhere since...well...since forever, Galliano actually created pieces that looked like they were made from flowers - the colours, the shapes, the textures, every garment had some kind of clear reference to a particular type of flower. I especially love the strapless white dress (third photo down) that has a splash of deep blue, which kind of fades out at the edges; it really reminds me of how lilies have the same kind of thing - really deep pink in the centre of the flower that fades out onto the petals. They also pointed out on Style.com how the cellophane headpieces and raffia belts seem to be inspired by the wrappings you get on bouquets. It was like the Chelsea Flower Show does Couture! I always say this when I post on Dior, but just go to Style.com and have a look at the full collection; I've posted a selection but you really need to seem them all!

As usual, they've also done crazy amazing hair and makeup - does anyone else find the hairstyles remind them a bit of something from Dr Seuss?!

Also, can I just say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post - I'm glad I got such a positive response, was a bit worried I'd get a load of Twilight fans cursing me and burning curly haired effegies of me as a sacrifice to Edward Cullen... and quite frankly, I just don't need that...

Sunday, 11 July 2010

So, remember how I said that even though I wasn't particularly fussed on Edward Cullen and his nauseous little face, I was still going to give the Twilight books a go, because I want to know what all the fuss is about? Well I'm currently reading the first book and I have to say it is quite readable. It hasn't changed my life or anything, but it definitely hasn't been a chore to read. I still think it's massively overrated though. Maybe it's because I'm 22, not 15, or maybe it's because I'm massively cynical about love and romance in general, but I do think that Edward and Bella's relationship, right from the get-go is completely ridiculous and weird. And Bella is really f***ing annoying. I can't see how any teenage girls could relate to her, she's a nob. But yeah, I'm enjoying it...

Anyway, I was reading it on the bus the other day, and I got to the part where Edward and Bella go on a little trip to the woods (as you do) and she describes what he's wearing, and I suddenly read a sentence that made me pause and question Stephenie Meyer as a credible human living in the 21st century;

"His white shirt was sleeveless, and he wore it unbuttoned, so that the smooth white skin of his throat flowed uninterrupted over the marble contours of his chest,"

Does anyone else see the problem here? No seventeen year old boy, regardless of whether or not he happens to be a vampire, would go gallavanting around in an unbuttoned sleeveless shirt. I can't even imagine what that would look like, because nobody would EVER wear it. I'm not even talking about fashion here - they live in a small town, there probably isn't much in the way of reputable fashion stores, that's fine, I accept that. But unless the only store in a one hundred mile radius is the Jean Paul Gaultier Sailor Suit Cast Offs Store, there is no excuse for Edward wearing that shirt. No excuse. Stephenie Meyer, I don't know what kind of weird-ass, sartorially challenged world you're dreaming up, but you need to sort it out. Sure, the whole Twilight 'world' is full of mythical creatures (vampires, werewolves, Dakota Fanning) so obviously, we don't have to see it as completely realistic, but Steph, please at least try and be credible with the stuff that you actually can be credible with.

I feel like Carrie in that episode of SATC where Burger writes about the woman wearing a scrunchie. But at least some people actually own scrunchies.

Friday, 9 July 2010

I promise this is the last time I post a photo of leopard-print nails on here, I'm sure we've all had our fill. However, I felt I had to share this because it's not only a picture of lovely, leopardy nails but also of three of my bestestest friends, or at least, their hands. When I was down in London two weeks ago, we all had a fabulous day of being girlie, watching both the Sex and the City movies and making cakes (which sadly, due to a lack of baking powder, turned out kind of horrible). I also leoparded everyone with my mad skillz - I love that we've all got different colour combinations :)

On the subject of nail art; if you really want to see something truly fabulous/creative/brilliant/wonderful, I suggest heading over to Gem Fatale's blog, where her latest Tuesday Tips post was pure genius. I've already been inspired to buy a load of (super cheap) nail accessories on eBay.

PS. If anyone can tell me which movie the title quote is from, you will win... well, you will win nothing, I have nothing to give, but you will win my respect and admiration. And surely that's the best prize of all, right?

Sunday, 4 July 2010

The last few days have been spent preparing for, and then attending Tash's parent's 25th wedding anniversary, (which took place yesterday at a seriously posh old manor house in Staffordshire), a seriously fabulous affair that involved lots of singing, dancing and generally getting more than a bit drunk. I wore a pink French Connection dress, which I am in LOVE with - I wish I could wear it every day. Might have to post a photo of it at some point - I rarely do outfit posts, but I'll make an exception for this dress, for it is simply beautious. Tash also wore excellent shoes, not sure I've got a photo of them, but I may have to track one down as they were epic.

Anyway, while I'm still recovering from my lovely (drunken) weekend, I thought I'd do a quick review of the Topshop tattoos. I posted about them in May and have finally managed to get my hands on some (they didn't have any in the Liverpool store so I had to buy them online). Actually, the ones I posted about previously are quite different to the ones that are currently available to buy in stores. When I posted back in May, there was maybe four or five different tattoo sheets available to buy; some just contained one large image while others had a few smaller ones. Topshop seems to have improved upon these initial designs, as there is now a pack available that contains three sheets of tattoos with lots and lots of different designs to choose from.

These are quite obviously Chanel-inspired, even moreso than the first batch they brought out, which did feature swallows and chains etc, but were still quite simplistic. These ones, however, are a lot more detailed and pretty, with lots of different 'bracelets' and jewelled charms to customise them with.

I wore two last weekend in London - a flower design on my foot and a bracelet around my wrist, and I was fairly impressed; the designs are very pretty and I especially like the little highlights of white in the 'jewels'.

Floral foot

Charm bracelet

Charm bracelet (other side)

When it comes to applying them, it's just the standard process of holding a damp cloth to the back of the design for about 30 seconds and waiting for it to lift off the backing paper and stick to your skin. Very easy. What was tricky though, and I imagine this would be the case for any other similar tattoos, was applying the bracelet tattoo, as you had to kind of wrap it around your wrist and hold it in place so that it didn't slip. It would probably have been easier if I'd gotten someone to help me, but of course, I never do things sensibly. You can also see, in the first picture of the charm bracelet, just above the star charm, where the two ends of the chain overlap a bit messily - I couldn't quite work out how to get them to line up, but again, I'd imagine if you had someone to help you it would be quite do-able.

Now the pictures above were taken straight after I applied the tattoos, and as you can see, the charm bracelet had already started to split a bit. They don't have great staying-power; don't expect them to last much longer than a day, especially not in the heat; I applied mine on the Friday afternoon and by the Saturday afternoon, the one on my foot had mostly been rubbed away and faded. I wore this swallow design on my wrist for the party yesterday and it seems to have fared a little better;

although, you can see that it's started to fade and the edges are rubbing away a bit.

All in all, while they don't last very long, I do still really like them; I think they're ideal for one-off wear, such as a night out. The designs are lovely, the pack has a really good range of images to choose from and they're only £5 - winner!

I've not changed my mind about permanent tattoos; I'd never get one as I'm certain I would eventually get bored and regret it, but I am a big fan of the whole temporary thing; there's just so many possibilities! Plus, I like the slightly rock and roll vibe they give off (let's be honest here, I'm about as rock and roll as Alvin and the Chipmunks, but just humour me, ok?).

So what do you think? Will you be sporting some Topshop tatts this summer?